Wiedmaier Workouts: Change of Direction

Editor's Note: Chad Wiedmaier, former Princeton All-American and current Hamilton Nationals defenseman and Towson Tigers' volunteer assistant coach, will be working with current college and pro lacrosse players to highlight their favorite exercise and its on-field application. He decided to kick things off himself with this exercise. Check back Thursday for a video of how this workout impacts him on the field.

This is a 5-10-5 shuttle, or a 20-yard shuttle (it goes by both names) that I've been doing since high school that's really helped me on the field. The keys to focus on are explosion and change of direction at each turn.

It helps to run along a horizontal line, so pick a spot on the field like the edge of the restraining box that has a cross-line. Start by strattling the line, and make a strong, quick first step in the direction of the first sprint.

Once you've made your turn, focus on getting low and exploding out of the line. This is what you're trying to improve on the field.

There are a variety of running patterns to do — shuffle, crossover run, backward and forward runs are just a few — and make sure to do all exercises both to your right and to your left.

Check out the video for more detail, and be sure to check ILGear.com on Thursday for the next installment.